


How to Become a God

by NoxCandy



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Alternate Universe - Mythology, Demigods, Established Relationship, Goddess Kiyoko, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Love God Sugawara, M/M, Moon God Tsukishima, Multi, Ocean God Kageyama, Other Side Pairings, Sun God Hinata, god!kageyama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-20 22:01:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30011577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoxCandy/pseuds/NoxCandy
Summary: Oikawa Tooru always thought he was normal- just a normal person with normal friends and normal interests. A normal person in a sea of nobodies. However meeting a man with ocean eyes flips life on its head, and as it turns out life isn't how he thought it would be.Iwaizumi crosses his arms over his own chest, “Do we know you?”"You used to." His lips upturn in the corner, but his eyes look contemplative-sorrowful maybe. "Please excuse me."And then just like that the man is gone, just as quickly as he appeared
Relationships: Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, Iwaizumi Hajime/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime/Kageyama Tobio/Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kageyama Tobio/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 2
Kudos: 95





	1. Chapter I: Ocean Eyed Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> Oikawa's used to his normal life- he loves it even. Its very simple. He has a loving mother, and amazing boyfriend, and two best friends he's tempted to murder on just about everyday that ends in "y" but he he wouldn't trade it for the world.  
> So why does he get the feeling that his life is soon to go off the rails?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa's used to his normal life- he loves it even. Its very simple. He has a loving mother, and amazing boyfriend, and two best friends he's tempted to murder on just about everyday that ends in "y" but he he wouldn't trade it for the world.  
> So why does he get the feeling that his life is soon to go off the rails?

Oikawa Tooru always thought he was relatively normal.

Sure, he has good looks, brains, and he’s athletic- not to mention an _amazing_ personality.

_“Shut up, Trashykawa!”_

_“Iwa! I’ll have you know I have an award-winning personality- OW! Iwa, you brute! AH! Stop hitting me!”_

He might have the brain, brawns and look but compared to bastards like Ushiwaka he’s so painfully normal that it hurts.

“Hey, are you ready to go or what?! I’m not waiting for you all day, Lazykawa.”

Tooru sighs, looking in the mirror. He fixes his hair one last time and shoots himself an award-winning smile.

“Oi! I’m leaving without you, Shittykawa!”

“Iwa-chan! Enough with all the vulgar names!” He pouts, and then just for good measure “Why must you always be so mean to me?”

Like himself, his friends and boyfriend are relatively normal too… well maybe not Iwa- he might be half ape or something with how hard he hits.

_“Hey Iwa- are you part ape or something?”_

_“ **Huh?”**_

**** _“Ah, sorry, sorry- I didn’t mean it- OW! Iwa!”_

_“You want an ape, I’ll show you an ape!”_

_“I said part ape- OW! IWA-CHAN, YOU BRUTE!”_

Or maybe he’s an alien… It would check out- his fascination with bugs can’t be normal. Tooru shivers.

“Oi, I told you it was going to chilly today, you should have brought a jacket.” Oikawa rolls his eyes in response.

“Jeez, Iwa, what are you, my mother? Ow!” Iwaizumi rolls his eyes at Tooru continues to whine but sheds his hoodie for his overdramatic boyfriend anyways. Oikawa is quick to put it on, nuzzling into the soft fabric. No way is he getting it back anytime soon.

“Where are we going anyways?”

“To get milk-bread of course!” Iwaizumi looks unamused, “ _and_ there’s this new restaurant that opened up that is supposed to sell really good agedashi tofu!”

Iwaizumi’s smiles, not a huge grin- but the kind of smile he makes when they’re cudding on the couch with an old Godzilla film playing in the background. _Content_. Tooru feels like he won the world. Unfortunately, staring at Iwa’s smile means not looking where he’s going leading to him running straight into _something._

_What did I even run into? A wall?_

“Sorry about him, he was probably daydreaming” Iwaizumi apologizes to whoever he bumped into, before helping him up.

_Not a wall then._ Oikawa examines the man in front of them. _He might as well be._

The first thing he notices is blue eyes. Ocean blue that seems to shift like the waves. _How cliché._ And he’s tall. Like taller than Oikawa tall, but he doesn’t seem older than them- at least not by much. He’s not even that much taller than Oikawa- maybe a few centimeters, but he’s broad and the expression on his face is intimidating. He doesn’t know why but his scowl reminds him or Ushiwaka-chan and that irritates the hell out of him.

Oikawa looks him over again as his face relaxes into a more surprised expression.

_Maybe not like Ushiwaka-chan, then. I don’t think Ushiwaka feels anything at all._

“Oikawa-san? Iwaizumi-san?” The strangers voice doesn’t sound familiar in the slightest, and Oikawa doesn’t remember seeing him anywhere else before. He’d think he’d remember someone with that haircut. Seriously, does he even do anything with his hair? Its so messy, what the hell?! Well, its not that messy, its wavier than anything- seemingly ruffled by the wind.

_He kind of looks like one of the men on the covers of those romance novels that my mom reads. Wait! Priorities Tooru!_

Back to the topic at hand, this stranger knows both his and Iwaizumi’s name, and he’s pretty sure they’ve never met before. Tooru’s eyes narrow, looking into the strangers eyes.

_Though… it does feel like I’ve seen those eyes before._

Seeming to share his boyfriend’s discomfort, Iwaizumi crosses his arms over his own chest, “Do we know you?” The man looks over the two of them before he smiles- if you could even call it that. His lips only upturn slightly in the corner, while his eyes are unreadable.

“You used to.” Seeming to snap out of whatever daze he’s in, the stranger bows politely, “Please excuse me.”

And like that he’s walking past them, down the street.

“Hey, wait a minute!” Tooru scrambles after him as he turns the corner, but he quickly pauses- sending an unassuming Iwaizumi to crash into his back.

“What the hell, Tooru?”

“He’s gone.”


	2. Chapter II: Shrines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Human beings don't just disappear- that's most definetely NOT normal. Not to mention the strange ramen shop, that Tooru swears he's never seen before despite living in Miyagi his entire life. He swears, life seems to get stranger and stranger.

“Huh? What do you mean gone?” Oikawa keeps staring at the alleyway, as if it would make the strange man reappear.

“I mean he’s gone- like he vanished into thin air, presto!” Oikawa even makes jazz hands as he stares shocked at the back wall.

“People don’t just disappear loserkawa!”

“I know that, Iwa!” Tooru frowns, “But he’s gone.”

Tooru looks back, as Iwaizumi frowns. He opens his mouth to say something but-

_Drip. Drip. Dr-_

“Shit!” The two boys quickly go running for a shop to take cover in nearby as the rain picks up speed.

“You couldn’t have checked the weather, Crappykawa!”

“I really don’t like these names you know!”

“Shut it, Shittykawa!”

“Now you’re just being vulgar!”

Still the boys run, quickly ducking into a shop with an old wooden sign with **_紙子のラーメン_** on it.

_Kamiko’s ramen? I don’t remember this being here before…_

Tooru hunches over, breathing heavily while Iwaizumi does the same. As he catches his breath, he looks around the inside. The shop is small, but clean and homey. Not to mention it looks old- like its more of an old shrine or a library than a shop. It smells like wood, old books, and incense. Behind the desk at the front are books, packed neatly into the wall. The text on the spines are old and faded, and it looks like all of them have hardcovers and are well loved. Next to the desk is an old wooden staircase and further to the left is a room. Looking around it seems like the room off to the left is much the same way the front desk is- lined wall to wall with books and a small stone fireplace with a few chairs scattered through-out. Absently Tooru wonders if they wandered into someone’s home instead of the ramen shop.

“Ah, I don’t think I’ve seen you two before, table for two?”

Looking up Tooru is met face to face with a beautiful woman descending the stairs. She has pretty black hair and blue eyes, with glasses and a beauty mark. Something about her reminds him of the strange man on the street but before he can say anything Iwaizumi elbows him.

“That would be great, thank you…”

“I’m Kiyoko.” She smiles softly, and it instantly reminds Tooru of that one painting from his art class. _The Mona Lisa._

“Hey Kiyoko, can you grab me that book on Dinosaurs in the Cretaceous period? Tsukishima called and said he wanted to borrow it for a bit.” Kiyoko looks back up the steps,

“The one on Sauropods?”

“That’s the one!”

Kiyoko hums in acknowledgement, before she looks at the two boys. “Follow me,”

She leads the two to a large room off to the right, and they instantly realize that this shop is much larger than it originally seemed. Picking up two menus she hands them off, “You can sit wherever you like- we’re never really busy- especially not on Sundays. Someone will be down to get you drinks in a minute.”

Oikawa quickly surveys the room, and true to her words the restaurant is empty. All the tables are clean- untouched, but the space looks bright and warm. Unlike the other two rooms there aren’t any books, just big windows looking out to the river and Oikawa’s sure if he looks hard enough, he can see some of the Aoba caste ruins. The space itself looks much more modern than the other two rooms with the exception of the various shrines lined up in front of what Oikawa assumes is the wall blocking the kitchen if the clanging of pots and pans are anything to go off of. Of course, those aren’t the only shrines in the room. There area few more up on the walls and ever a couple in front of the windows.

It all seems kind of strange but Oikawa brushes it off anyways choosing to sit by a shrine in front of the window. The shrine is small, and made of wood, but its painted in various blues, yellows, oranges, and purples, so that it looks like the sky with both the sun and moon- day and night. It really is beautifully painted. The only odd thing about it is the plaque. The characters at the front are strange- he doesn’t think he’s ever seen them before, but luckily underneath are several Japanese names.

**_Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, Hinata_**

Tooru’s brow’s furrow.

_Tsukishima, as in the guy that wants the dinosaur textbook?_

“Ah, I see you found Hinata’s shrine.” Startled, Tooru looks behind him to meet the smiling face of a man with silver hair and a beauty mark on his cheek.

_Is it a requirement to be pretty to work here or something?_

“Hinata’s shrine?” Iwaizumi asks.

“Oh, well its really Hinata’s, Yamaguchi’s, and Tsukishima’s shrine but we usually just call it Hinata’s shrine to keep it short.” The man snickers to himself, “Can I offer you some green tea? I figured you came in from the rain so you must be cold.”

_An angel, an actual angel!_

“Yes, please.” Then Tooru remembers what he wants to ask, “Hey Mr. Refreshing- “

“Mr. Refreshing?” Tooru blushes as the man giggles, “I can’t say I’ve heard that one before.”

“Well, I find you very refreshing, Suga!” A voice calls from the kitchen, before another chides him.

“No way! My darling Kiyoko, is way more refreshing!”

The grey haired man laughs again, “Don’t mind those two, they’re a bunch of idiots. I swear between them and Noya, they only have two braincells to rub between them-”

“Hey!”

“You’re breaking my heart, babe!”

“Anyways, my name is Sugawara, but you can just call me Suga. Everyone else does.”

“So, Suga-chan, earlier you were talking about someone named Tsukishima coming to grab a book… Does he have anything to do with this shrine?” Suga’s face settles into a fond look.

“Tsukishima-kun is one of my kouhai, he actually used to work here before he went off to college. He’s actually named after the Tsukishima from the shrine.”

“And who’s the Tsukishima from the shrine.” Sugawara smiles again, but Oikawa feels that its… off somehow. Like he’s hiding something, or he knows something that they don’t.

“That would be the moon deity. Hinata is the sun, Yamaguchi is the sky, and Tsukishima is the moon.”

Iwaizumi’s brows furrow, “Don’t you think they’d get mad having to share a shrine.”

Sugawara hums with that same secretive smile on his face, “Maybe, but I’d like to think they like sharing a shrine. After all, the shrines have been here for years and we’ve been blessed with good fortune.” Suga then shrugs, “No matter, is there anything I can get for you guys?”

Oikawa perks up at the thought of food, “Do you have milk bread?” Iwaizumi rolls his eyes.

“Yes, Terushima just baked it this morning.” Oikawa grins and skims the menu.

“Then I’ll take milk bread and a bowl of Miso.” Iwaizumi stares at him in disbelief, “I’ll take a bowl of pork curry ramen too.”

Suga jots it down on his notepad before looking to Iwaizumi, “And you?”

“Can I get Agedashi tofu and a bowl of miso.”

“Alright then, we’ll have that right out for you. Feel free to explore while you wait. The bathroom is upstairs first door off the stairs. Just holler if you need anything.”

And with that, Suga walks into the kitchen leaving the boys to their own devices.

The two of them share a look. It’s not exactly normal to just tell people that they’re free to snoop around your store where you can’t see them. Maybe if there were cameras, but Oikawa is fairly sure there isn’t any there given that the phone at the front desk looks like its _old-_ like it came straight out of the 1900s. It’s one of the telephones with the phone part at the top and it has those dials on it that you’d have to spin. Tooru remembers seeing one in a museum- there was a replica right next to it to let children spin the dials, and it was horrible (it made Tooru much more grateful for his smartphone).

Suddenly Tooru isn’t feeling so great about this place anymore.

“I’m going to head to the bathroom” Oikawa looks at Iwaizumi with wide eyes, “Quit looking at me like that- I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be down in five minutes.”

Before Oikawa can even protest, Iwaizumi is already up the stairs, leaving Tooru alone.


	3. Chapter III: A Million Doors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No matter how many door Iwaizumi opens, it never ends. This place has got to be much bigger than it first appeared on the outside- there's no other way for this to make sense. At this point Iwaizumi is convinced he could spend weeks opening all the doors in this building and he still wouldn't get them all. Maybe Tooru was right for once... Maybe there is something wrong here.

Iwaizumi is a logical person. He has to be to combat Tooru’s idiocy. Seriously, it’s a shock that his boyfriend’s grades are as high as they are considering the only things bouncing around in that empty head of his is volleyball and aliens.

_“That is so not true, Iwa-chan! I also thing of you- my big, strong, grumpy boyfriend whom I LOVE very very much~”_

_“Shut up, cheesykawa!”_

Because of that he can say with reasonably confidence that the man from earlier did not just disappear into thin air as Tooru seems to think. With the same level of confidence, he can reasonably conclude that people working at _Kamiko’s_ don’t mean ill will towards them. They probably are just reasonably excited that they finally have a customer when no one really comes there. That’s all.

Of course, because of his logicality, Hajime can’t just let go of that little bit of skepticism. There is definitely something _odd_ about this place- like there’s some secret hidden here that everyone else is privy to except them. Then again, that could just be Tooru’s tendency to be overdramatic rubbing off on him.

_“Iwa, I am not being dramatic! I swear! That kid totally did it on purpose, look at his evil little grin!”_

So, to put his mind at ease (and to shut up that little voice in his head that sounds strangely like Oikawa) Iwaizumi starts to search the upstairs rooms.

_Its not snooping per se- Sugawara told us we could look around if we like, he never restricted where. Besides if there was something, they really didn’t want us to see they’d have locked the doors._

Strengthening his resolve, Iwaizumi opens the first door.

Looking around the room is not unlike the one downstairs filled with books. It seems to be a study of some sort. Other than the big window overlooking the storm outside, the walls are covered with shelves holding books and knick-knacks. On one side the wall seems to be filled with newer books mixed with old ones- the ones he can make out have shiny plastic covers with spines labeling the insides about strategies in board games and video games. There also seems to be a few about cats mixed in between them which seem much more worn. Upon closer look, there also seems to be many books about wars throughout history as well as significant soldiers and leaders. Napoleon, Yukimura, Genghis Khan, Winston Churchill, Alexander the Great.

_Whoever had time to put this together really knew their shit._

On the other side, the books look like they were organized by someone completely different. Every book looks like its been crammed into the shelves, with some books being stacked on top or in front- anywhere they can fit. The titles are written in my different languages with different colored sticky notes popping out everywhere the eye can see. The subjects wildly vary- some seem to be fiction, some romance, a couple of witchcraft and world religions, while a few are almanacs. Surprisingly, the largest number of books are about owls. Looking closer it seems that there are a few owl figurines and stuffed animals crammed in the shelves.

Stepping away from the messy shelves, Iwaizumi walks towards the desk underneath the window. There’s a map spread out, and a few books in what Iwaizumi thinks is Russian on the desk with sticky notes messily stuck about with some other language written on them. Then on either side of the desk, there’s a shrine.

_I’ve never seen so many kamidana in one place before. That’s gotta be the weirdest thing about this place yet…_

The shrines are a little smaller in size to the ones downstairs, but they seem to be the same in structure. The shrine on the left is painted in shades of red, with black decals scattered about with a torch and spear painted on the side. The plaque is similar to the one downstairs too. There’s some language written on it with a name listed underneath.

_“ **Kodzuken”**_

**** _What an odd name for a deity…_

He moves to step back, but something catches on the light on the inside of the little glass door.

_If I don’t disturb anything it should be fine…_

Carefully, Iwaizumi opens the little glass door, exposing a shiny figurine of a black cat. Looking it over, it looks normal if only very well cared for- not a speck of dust on it. There also seems to be an offering… which looks like an apple pie? Not a whole one of course- just one of the little ones you can buy at the store. Shrugging, Iwaizumi closes the shrine, bowing his head in respect before moving on to the other shrine.

Unlike the other one, this shrine is painted in silver and black with golden accents with symbols painted all over the sides. Iwaizumi has no idea what they mean but they seem… _enchanted_ for lack of better term. Same as the other two shrines, this one has the strange language on the plaque.

**_“Akaashi”_**

Just out of curiosity, Iwaizumi checks this one too. The inside has a golden owl figurine on the inside with what looks like a pocket almanac and an onigiri positioned next to it.

_Other than the shrines, there’s nothing strange about this place. Maybe Tooru is just paranoid?_

Iwaizumi walks out of the room and moves to the next, reasonably confident that it’ll probably be much the same.

Iwaizumi checks the a few other rooms, each one being incredibly different but still with different kamidana and different things ranging from beds to shelves, to desks, to knick-knacks. Every time Iwaizumi opens a door, he feels like there’s three more waiting for him.

_This place looked really small on the outside, but it must be huge- how else could there be so many rooms on one floor._

But still there’s more rooms.

_How long have I been doing this? And- I didn’t open that door…_

Cautiously, Iwaizumi approaches the open door his heart racing.

Closer, and closer, until he gets to the door cracked open. Taking a deep breath, he grasps the nob and-


	4. Chapter IV: Introspective Names

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Iwa-chan, do we have name tags or something on our clothes?"
> 
> "What the hell are you talking about now, shittykawa? Did you finally loose whatever braincells you had left?"
> 
> "Iwa! Stop being so vulgar! I'm just saying its odd that all these strangers seem to know us when we've never met them before."

Oikawa is a cautious person by nature- when you’re crafty and regularly deceive those around you to mask your own insecurities you learn how to look for the same thing in others.

_That was way too introspective for my liking, just another reason to hate this place._

Still, the point is that something’s not right about _Kamiko’s_ and Tooru is determined to get to the bottom of it, even if Hajime won’t believe it. Firstly, why haven’t they heard about or seen this place? While its possible that they don’t get many customers, surely someone would have known something. This place looks _old_. The phone at the front desk must be from the early 1920s at least- and even if the people here like antiques, who would actually want to use something that old when you could use newer technology? It just doesn’t make sense considered that its entirely possible that the thing is too old to function.

Old phone aside, the books on the walls look even older if that’s even possible. Some of the books on the wall, Tooru’s afraid to touch in fear that they’ll crumble away to dust. These types of books are the kind that belong in museums or natural archives- not some unknown ramen shop near the coast in Miyagi. That’s not even mentioning the various titles. Sure there are some Japanese texts throughout, but many of them are written in other languages- Tooru can easily recognize a few in English and Chinese, he thinks he even spots a few in Korean and Russia, but many of them (especially the older tomes) look like they’re in some ancient language- maybe even an alien one.

_What if they’re thieves that steal books around the world, and finally found evidence for aliens…?_

Tooru shakes his head. _I need to focus._

“Hm? Oikawa, is there something wrong?” Tooru startles looking at the silver haired man that emerged from the kitchen. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, but I brought some water.”

“Uh, right. Thanks.” Suga smiles.

“So, what did that book do to you? You’ve been staring at it a bit intensely for the past five minutes. I was getting kind of worried.”

“Ah, no no. Its nothing really, just- “Tooru’s eyes narrow, “Say Suga-chan, a lot of these books look really old.”

Suga hums, pouring two glasses of water, “That’s because they are. My family have been collecting these books for generations, and each one has been passed on throughout the years.”

“Ah, I see. They must be really valuable to your family then.”

“Ah, not really.” Suga chuckles rubbing the back of his neck, “Much of the books, especially those relating to languages and science are really outdated. And a lot of the good ones are kind of falling a part at the seams. Sometimes I think about taking a weekend and typing them out on my old typewriter and rebounding them with the spines just to make them easier to read.”

“A weekend? I’m pretty sure it would take years just to get through half of these maybe even longer using a typewriter.”

“Mhm, yeah. I guess you’re right.” Suga’s face looks unreadable for a moment before going back to his smiling expression, “Maybe just a few of my favorites. There is this romance novel from the 19th century I’m particularly fond of.”

“Sounds like you have your work cut out for you. Is it any good?” Sugawara’s smile suddenly looks much softer.

“It is. Out of all of my books I think it’s my favorite.” Suddenly he stands looking back to Tooru, “Well, I should go back and make sure the boys aren’t making too much of a mess in my kitchen. Though… Oikawa?”

The brown-haired male tenses, “Yes?”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you come here.” Oikawa’s stomach sinks “Ah, not that I don’t appreciate your company! And I’m not trying to be rude its just… This place isn’t very well known with the youth these days…” Sugawara suddenly looks much older than his appearance would imply

“Ah its fine.” Oikawa tries to placate him before contemplating an appropriate response. “Honestly, we were just trying to get out of the rain, and this was the first place we saw.”

_Its not a lie… We were just trying to get out of the rain. Finding this place was a complete accident. And honestly, if I knew this was how today was going to turn out I would have stayed home. I mean honestly? A strange man that knew my name suddenly disappears followed by the strange ramen shop filled with shrines and ancient books? Maki and Matsun will get a kick out of this if they even believe it._

Oikawa looks back up to meet Sugawara’s surprised expression. “Ah, I see. In that case, I hope you enjoy your time here. Your food should be done soon.” And with that he disappears back into the kitchen to leave Tooru to his newest troubling discovery.

_We never told them our names._


	5. Chapter V: Living Waters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He doesn’t even realize he’s moved until he touches the old wood.  
> “You used to.”  
> Flashes of blue eyes, pales skin, pink lips. Water, waves, cold, phantom touches tracing his skin.  
> “Tooru, Hajime! Get in here! It’s raining, you’re going to catch a cold!”  
> “But mama, what about Tobio?”  
> “Sorry, I have to go.”  
> “But Kageyama! You said-“  
> “I’m sorry, Iwaizumi. Please excuse me.”

“Uh sorry.”

Iwaizumi wasn’t sure what he was expecting after he opened that door but Kiyoko wasn’t it. She’s kneeling on the floor in front of another one of those kamidana, the little door opens for offering which the woman seemed to be offering.

Kiyoko looks over her shoulder but says nothing, instead choosing to place what looks like a curry bun in the shrine before bowing her head. As Iwaizumi goes to leave, she stands and brushes off her skirt.

“Its fine. No harm done.” She smiles slightly, turning to face him. “Did you want to make an offering?”

“Ah,” Iwaizumi rubs the back of his head, “I don’t think I have anything to offer…”

“Hm…” Kiyoko hums in contemplation, “Your respect is usually enough. I don’t usually offer anything myself, but I usually try to keep the shrines clean. I do try to offer food once every month or so, though.”

Iwaizumi looks around the room. Out of all the ones he’s seen so far, this one seems to have the most shrines except for the dining room downstairs. There’s a total of 4 shrines, each painted differently than any of the others he’s seen so far. These shrines seem to be bigger as well.

The first one is painted in white and grey with pastel colors staining cloud like designs. The shrine looks… clinical in a way- clean and immaculate. The next one over is stained in earthy colors and designs of vines, and plants. It almost feels alive- radiating some kind of warmth. Iwaizumi moves to the next one.

 _Chilling…_ _How can a shrine give me the creeps?_

This shrine just feels creepy the orange and red designs on top of the black paint makes it feel… unsettling. The orange designs seem to feel like fire and violence. Iwaizumi doesn’t want to look at that one longer than he has to but-

“No many people like to pray at Kuroo’s alter.” Kiyoko sounds amused, Iwaizumi looks back to see her lips upturned and she somehow looks secretive.

_I think I’m starting to see what Shittykawa means._

Iwaizumi clears his throat, “Why not? What is he the deity of?”

“Kuroo is the god of the underworld. His consort is Kenma- the god of war. They’re usually associated with blood-shed and pain.” Kiyoko’s amusement disappears instead taking on a look of sadness. “Their reputation is one of cruelty but they’re necessary.”

Iwaizumi’s eye narrow.

 _Am I delusional or does it sound like she’s… familiar with them? She makes it sound like these deities were old friends- maybe family,_ Iwaizumi shakes his head. _No, that can’t be it._

“What about the last shrine?” Kiyoko smiles again.

“That’s Tobio’s shrine.” Iwaizumi looks to the shrine and feels his breath catch.

If he thought he felt strange energy from the other shrines, its nothing compared to this one. The designs on the wood are pretty with different shades of blue, navy, teal, and white creating ocean waves and whirlpools. The shrine feels like its drawing him in like the tide drawing back into the sea.

He doesn’t even realize he’s moved until he touches the old wood.

**_“You used to.”_ **

**_Flashes of blue eyes, pales skin, pink lips. Water, waves, cold, phantom touches tracing his skin._ **

**_“Tooru, Hajime! Get in here! It’s raining, you’re going to catch a cold!”_ **

**_“But mama, what about Tobio?”_ **

**_“Sorry, I have to go.”_ **

**_“But Kageyama! You said-“_ **

**_“I’m sorry, Iwaizumi. Please excuse me.”_ **

Reality seems to come back to him all to suddenly, leaving him reeling from the abrupt change.

_What the fuck was that-_

“-zumi! Iwaizumi!” A cool hand shakes his shoulder while the other holds his wrist away from the wood. “Iwaizumi-san!”

Snapping out of it, he looks to Kiyoko. “Ah, sorry, sorry… I’m not sure what happened.”

Kiyoko hums, “Its fine. Why don’t you head downstairs? I’m sure your food’s done by now.”

“I- uh, yeah. Yeah, right. Okay.”

_There really is something wrong with this place._


	6. Chapter VI: Good Food, Weird People

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How can such a creepy place have food so good? It really is unfair. Tooru would give anything to be able to cook food like that. Maybe that’s what’s wrong. Maybe these people sold their souls to be able to make food this good…  
> “I don’t know what you’re thinking but whatever it is I’m sure its shitty.”

For such a creepy place, Kamiko’s ramen has amazing food.

_“Iwa, don’t tell my mom but… I think this milkbread might be even better than hers!”_

_“You really are a shitty guy.”_

But good food aside, Oikawa and Iwaizumi finish eating rather quickly. By the time their leftovers are packed up and they go to pay the rain has stopped, leaving the sun to peak out from behind the clouds.

“You guys should head home before the sun sets.” Suga smiles, “Oh! And bring an umbrella next time.”

Oikawa goes to say something, but Iwaizumi harshly elbows him while rummaging around his pockets for his wallet. “We’ll do that.” He goes to hand Sugawara the money, but he just waves him off.

“Don’t worry about it- your company was payment enough. Just come back again sometime.”

Oikawa and Iwaizumi share a look. “We can’t ask that of you.”

“Really, I insist.” Sugawara smiles, all dangerous and scolding “If you ask again, I’ll take offence.”

Iwaizumi sighs in defeat- he’s seen that look on his own mother’s face before. There’s no way he could win. “Alright. We’ll come back again sometime. And we’ll bring friends.”

“Please do!” Suga grins.

The rest of the night goes by in a blur- everything else was just so mundane in comparison. If Oikawa were to guess he’d say that it was waiting for the other shoe to drop, but really, he was just trying to process everything that happened that day. Even as the night winds down and his eyes grow heavy, he just can’t sleep.

He tried counting sheep, drinking warm milk, holding his breath until he passed out, he even got up and did push-up until his arms were sore. Nothing could settle his mind. Eventually he just resigns himself to watching old re-runs of the x-files until his mom yells at him to go to sleep.

When he finally climbs back into bed, he checks his phone and its 3:42 and his brain is still buzzing. He opens his messages hovers over Hajime’s contact. Tooru grins.

** Iwa-chan <3 **

** Shittykawa **

_Hey_

_Iwa-chan <3 is online_

** Iwa-chan <3 **

_Go the fuck to sleep_

** Shittykawa **

_Iwa! So mean!_

_You’re not sleeping either :0000_

** Iwa-chan <3 **

_We have school in 4 hours._

_Go._

_To._

_Sleep._

** Shittykawa **

_I tried!!!_

_I just can’t sleep._

_Serenade me, my love! <3 <3 <3_

** Iwa-chan <3 **

_If you don’t go to sleep, I’m going to your house and knocking your dumbass out._

** Shittykawa **

_Iwaaaaaa_

** Iwa-chan <3 **

_Bed._

_NOW._

** Shittykawa **

_Yessir!_

_Shittykawa is offline_

** Iwa-chan <3 **

_Good riddance._


	7. Chapter VII: Monday Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I love you.”  
> “Go fuck yourself.”  
> “Come fuck me yourself, coward.”  
> “Only if I don’t have to kiss you- that shit was nasty.”  
> “Babe, you’re such a piece of shit.”  
> “But you can’t help but love me.”  
> “Shit, man. You right.”

Monday morning is surprisingly normal.

Oikawa was expecting something- _anything_ to prove that Sunday really did happen, that it wasn’t all just a dream. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting exactly- just _something._ Maybe one of those old books from the shelves or an empty shrine with a dead bird or something waiting for him at the bus stop (like super creepy, straight out of a horror movie or something). Or maybe Sugawara would show up and reveal that they were actually aliens testing humanity, and they had decided the him and Iwaizumi were the perfect candidates to take to their home planets. Hell, maybe that blue eyed stranger would be waiting for him to tell him that he’s actually a third year on the basketball team that was dared to prank the two of them.

Much to Tooru’s displeasure nothing happens- there are no creepy horror movie scenes, or old books, or aliens, or blue-eyed strangers. Just an empty bus stop with him and Iwaizumi. Everything after carries on like usual. The bus is exactly 5 minutes late just like every Monday. When they get to school, there’s no morning practice (there never is practice on Mondays) and his fangirls still swarm him with compliments and sweets and gifts just as usual. His morning lesson play out much the same- just as tedious as always.

Its almost like Sunday never happened. Tooru might even believe that it was all a dream if not for Hajime.

By the time lunch rolls around, Tooru is seriously regretting his lack of sleep- he didn’t even have time to grab his bento out of the fridge that morning so he had to grab some food from the cafeteria which is still the same as always- meaning mediocre at best. Well… except for the milk bread- not even the cafeteria could mess up milk bread.

“Matsun that is disgusting.” Iwaizumi grimaces as the other third year shrugs.

“Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.” Looking rather pleased with himself, Matsukawa dips another chocolate-milk soaked French fry into his unholy ketchup-mayo-ranch combination.

Tooru gags.

“Fuck it.” Hanamaki grabs his own French fry before dipping it in his strawberry milk and Mattsun’s only condiment combo and popping into his mouth.

Mattsun cackles as Hanamaki goes running to the trashcan.

“Fuck you, man!” Hanamaki gasps out finally coming back to the table, wiping his mouth. “That was vile.”

“I love you.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

“Come fuck me yourself, coward.”

“Only if I don’t have to kiss you- that shit was nasty.”

“Babe, you’re such a piece of shit.”

“But you can’t help but love me.”

“Shit, man. You right.”

Tooru rolls his eyes, pushing around the rice on his tray.

_Just the same as ever._

“Hey, Oikawa! You’re awful quiet today.” Matsun pokes him with his foot, “Don’t tell me you and Iwaizumi got into a lovers quarrel.”

Oikawa frowns and looks to Iwaizumi.

“Hey, have you guys ever heard of a place called Kamiko’s Ramen?”

The two share a look, and Maki shrugs. “Can’t say that I have. That place new or somethin’?”

“No way,“ Matsun denies, popping a grape into his mouth “I haven’t heard anything about a new ramen place.”

“It’s apparently really old.” Oikawa’s brows furrow. “Its by the river near the Aoba castle ruins. Me and Iwa went yesterday.”

“So…?”

“The food was really good.” Iwaizumi supplies before he looks pensive, “But the people there are… weird.”

Tooru nods in agreement, “There’s really old books and shrines all over the place.”

“And there’s a ton of rooms upstairs- like way more than there should be for a place that size.”

Maki and Matsun share a look before looking at Oikawa. “Okay so what? You went to a weird ramen shop with creepy shrines and shit in it. People have got weird tastes.

“Its not just weird,” Iwaizumi protests, “It just feels like there was something wrong with the place.

Maki laughs, “Like what, its haunted?”

“No-”

“-Yes.” Hajime and Tooru say at the same time.

“It’s not haunted, Loserkawa.”

“It would all make sense! The place seriously gives me the chills!” Oikawa insists as Hanamaki and Matsukawa laugh.

“Just because the place is shady, that doesn’t mean the place is haunted.”

“I’ll prove it to you then.” Oikawa decides, “We’re all going there after school!”

“Do we even have a choice?” Matsukawa deadpans.

“Probably not- this _is_ Oikawa we’re talking about.”

“Hey, I’m still your captain y’know! And I can _hear_ you!”

“Iwaizumi, you’ll save us from our cruel captain, won’t you?”

“I’m not saving you from his whining.”

“ _Iwa-chan!”_

“Y’all hear something?”

“ _Stop ignoring me!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited I got to finally write the meme kings :). I'm not sure if anyone's interested, but I think my updating schedule is probably going to mainly be on Saturdays, Sundays, and Wednesdays- maybe also Tuesday and Friday nights depending on my work and class schedule. I hope you guys enjoy. I can't promise that I'll be able to update constantly and regularly, but for now it looks like I'm going to be able to put out chapter pretty consistently which I'm excited for. I'm also super excited to be bringing Mamakawa and Kageyama in soon!
> 
> I'm so appreciative for the people that are actually reading this, the comments, the kudos, and hits are all really keeping me going. I love validation :).
> 
> I love and appreciate you guys, and comments are always welcome- I'll always try my best to respond.  
> Stay safe,  
> Love Nox<3


	8. Chapter VIII: Aged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iwaizumi rolls his eyes before looking back at the wooden sign. If it wasn’t for the sign reading 紙子のラーメン and the fact that the building is the same, he’d think that they were at the wrong place. Instead of dwelling, he looks back at the building.
> 
> Unlike yesterday, the building looks decrepit with vines crawling up the sides and growing out of cracks in the old, rotting wood. In the few areas made of stone, they’re covered in moss and the door in the front looks like it might just fall of the hinges. Its almost like the building aged 100 years over night.

**_To Oikawa and Iwaizumi,_ **

**_We didn’t think you’d come back so soon, you just missed us._ ** **_☹_ **

**_I don’t think you’re ready to see us yet, I think you know what I mean. There’s still a lot for you guys to figure out before everything starts to make sense. I’m sorry to say we don’t think we’re the right people to tell you either. Come find us once you know._ **

**_- <3 Suga, Kiyoko, Terushima, and Tanaka -_ **

Iwaizumi blinks once. Twice.

_Are you fucking kidding me?_

"Damn Oikawa, how’d you get Iwaizumi to join in on your prank? Whenever we try, he just yells at us and calls us idiots. Maki catch!” Matsukawa throws something white and shiny to Hanamaki.

“Yeah man, I can’t believe he joined in on such a lame joke.” Hanamaki chides, throwing the object back over Oikawa’s head. “Seriously, its just a whole bunch or buildings and that note was seriously really shitty.”

"Its not a joke, I swear! Me and Iwa-chan were just there yesterday!” Oikawa protests, “And stop throwing that, you’ll break it!”

Matsukawa catches it, instead opting to dangle the figurine over Oikawa’s head.

“What even is this thing, anyways?” Ignoring Oikawa jumping to reach the object, Matsukawa turns the porcelain bird in his hand, “Looks like a dove.”

This catches Iwaizumi’s attention. Snatching up the note, he walks back to the bickering trio.

“What about the eyes?”

“The eyes?” Hanamaki snatches the figure from Matsun, pushing Oikawa away by his face when he dives for it. “I mean, the eyes are kinda creepy. It has brown eyes- looks kinda life-like actually.”

Matsukawa takes on a thinking pose, “Actually, the whole thing is kind of life-like. And its pretty shiny for figurine. My mom used to have glass figures like this, and she’d always know when I touched them because she’d see the smudges from my fingerprints.”

“This one doesn’t have any smudges or anything. That’s kinda sus. Like we touched it and threw it around and shit but it’s still super shiny.”

“Yesterday, those shrines had figurines like that in them.” Iwaizumi reveals, taking the glass dove. “I didn’t touch the other ones, but this one definitely has the same weird energy to it.” Iwaizumi frowns.

“I didn’t even notice.” Oikawa frowns, leaning over Iwaizumi’s shoulder, “Do you think its haunted? OW!” Oikawa tumbles to the ground, as overdramatic as always, while Iwaizumi looks on unfazed.

“So, what, you think its from your mysterious disappearing ramen shop?” Takahiro hunches over Oikawa’s vacant spot as Issei comforts the whining Oikawa.

Iwaizumi shrugs, “I don’t know.”

“Then why don’t we just check the buildings over there?” The other three stare at Matsukawa.

“…”

“…”

“… Babe, that’s actually really smart.”

Issei looks mildly offended, “The fucks that supposed to mean? Ramen shops don’t just magically disappear y’know.” He deadpans.

Oikawa suddenly looks much more eager, practically dragging his unwilling teammates and boyfriend to the building bordering the river. Excitedly retracing his steps, he comes to an abrupt halt in front of an old building with a wooden sign plastered on the awning.

“So this is your mysterious shop?” Hanamaki runs a finger down the windowsill in the front. When he pulls his hand back its covered in dirt.

“Don’t do that, you’re probably gonna get tetanus or some shit.”

“You’ll nurse me back to health, right bro?”

“Yea, I got you bro.”

“Bro- “

Iwaizumi rolls his eyes before looking back at the wooden sign. If it wasn’t for the sign reading **_紙子のラーメン_** and the fact that the building is the same, he’d think that they were at the wrong place. Instead of dwelling, he looks back at the building.

Unlike yesterday, the building looks decrepit with vines crawling up the sides and growing out of cracks in the old, rotting wood. In the few areas made of stone, they’re covered in moss and the door in the front looks like it might just fall of the hinges. Its almost like the building aged 100 years over night.

“Iwa, I told you there was something wrong with this place” Tooru hisses, clinging to Iwaizumi’s arm, “Places don’t just age over night, I think this place really is haunted…”

Matsukawa and Hanamaki choose that moment to look back.

“Okay, so the building’s definitely real- “

“-But this place is old as dirt. No way you guys could have eaten here yesterday.” Matsukawa looks back at the vines growing out of the building, “Well unless you were eating bugs and vines- which I mean… you do you I guess?”

“Ew! I would never!” Oikawa vehemently protests, as Iwaizumi wiggles out from under his boyfriends hold.

“It’s okay, Oikawa, we fully support you.”

“Yeah man, no kink shaming here- “

“Maki, Matsun! I’m going to kill you both! I swear!”

“You’ll kill us, or you’ll have Bara-Arms-Iwa-chan do it for you!”

“Hey, only _I_ call him Iwa-chan!”

“Man, not just kinky, but possessive too.”

“And here, I thought you were just a twink.”

“I swear to god, I’ll make you both run laps!”

Ignoring the three morons behind him, Iwaizumi walks up the creaky old steps of _Kamiko’s Ramen Shop._ He knows for a fact that the place wasn’t like this yesterday, and there’s no way that this place aged overnight.

_There’s got to be a logical explanation for this. A prank maybe?_

Hajime tries the door handle, and contrary to the door’s appearance it stands sturdy underneath the pressure.

_This would take a lot of effort for it to be a prank, so not likely._

“Iwa-chan! What are you doing?” Ignoring Oikawa, Iwaizumi puts his shoulder against the door and pushes with his body weight. It still doesn’t budge. “ _Iwa!”_

“Shut up, Shittykawa!” Iwaizumi grunts, backing off the door. “Will one of you help me with this?”

Matsukawa shrugs, “I’m pretty sure this is considered breaking and entering,” 

Still he goes to help his shorter vice-captain put pressure against the old door.

“I don’t think that counts for a place this old,” Hanamaki comments, pushing against Matsukawa’s back. The door still doesn’t budge.

Grimacing, Tooru puts his hands against the dirt wood, “It’d probably be archeology at this point.”

Iwaizumi spares them a glance, before they all push one more- the door suddenly pops open, off its hinges leaving them all to fall into a pile in front of the doorway, the setting sun highlighting a dust particles flying about.

“Well… we got it open,” Hanamaki coughs, and Matsukawa groans from underneath him.

“I think I broke a rib.”


	9. Chapter IX: Don't Touch That!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the sound of Oikawa’s screams and Hanamaki’s wheezing laughs, Matsukawa comes to find the best thing that he’s probably ever seen in his 18 years of life… Well except for maybe Hanamaki in a cheerleader outfit because hot damn.

Matsukawa Issei has always been the life of the party- the class clown. It was an art he had perfected by the time his little brother and sister came around. Not everyone appreciated his humor though- particularly his teachers, and that one girl he dated at the end of junior high before he realized that he was interested in men.

_“Dude, we’re volleyball players- like every volleyball player I’ve met so far has been gay. Honestly we just call it ball club at this point.” Maki waggles his eyebrows._

_“Oya? And what about you? You wanna hit this?”_

_“Matsun, I’ve caught you staring at my ass multiple times and I continue to let you stare at my ass. What do you think?”_

_“… you do have a nice ass, tho.”_

Takahiro appreciates him and his humor- he’s been with him since junior high, and they’ve been together as a couple since 1st year of high school. Their kouhai know them as their cool gay uncles (that they never knew they wanted) which almost makes it bearable when the two of them accidentally mix up their jerseys.

“Hey Maki,”

“What?”

“Does the carpet match the drapes?”

The two of them laugh as Issei shines his phone’s flashlight at the obnoxious dry-rotted curtains on the windowsill. They stand there until Hanamaki starts sneezing.

“Gross, don’t sneeze on me!”

“Shu-“ Hamamaki sneezes again, scowling, “Shut up, you’ve literally sucked my dick- “

“And I’ll do it again.” Matsun waggles his eyebrows.

“Shit. Bet?”

Someone clears their throat behind them. Probably Iwaizumi.

“WE’RE RIGHT HERE, YOU KNOW!” Oikawa squawks.

They pointedly ignore him.

“Actually, maybe later, all this dust would probably get annoying.” Hanamaki scans the room, “And Oikawa makes my dick flaccid.”

“Same.”

“MATSU, MAKI!”

“See, such a turn off.”

Issei nods in agreement, turning to Iwaizumi “Honestly man, I don’t know how you get it up with him around. Honestly, he only has to scream Matsu once and my dick is soft.”

Iwaizumi shrugs, “He’s an acquired taste”

“IWA-CHAN!” Oikawa pouts, stomping off to another dust-covered room. “You know what, I hate you guys! You’re so mean to me!”

Iwaizumi sighs, and Hanamaki looks at him in concern.

“How long until he-?”

“Just give it a second.”

A few seconds pass before- “OH MY GOD, IT TOUCHED MEEEEEEEE!”

For as much as he teases, Issei appreciates Iwaizumi and Oikawa too. If him and Takahiro are the gay uncles, Iwaizumi is the mom. He’d say that Oikawa was the dad, but honestly? No way. No dad can be as much of a little bitch as Oikawa is. Case in point-

“SHUT IT, SHITTYKAWA- It’s just a bug!”

“JUST A BUG?! IT _TOUCHED_ ME!”

“KEEP SCREAMING AND I’LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO SCREAM ABOUT-“

“But Iwa- IWA NO! PUT THAT THING DOWN! GET IT AWAY FROM MEEEEEEEE!”

Following the sound of Oikawa’s screams and Hanamaki’s wheezing laughs, Matsukawa comes to find the best thing that he’s probably ever seen in his 18 years of life… Well except for maybe Hanamaki in a cheerleader outfit because _hot damn_.

“PUT IT DOWWWNNNN!!!”

Iwaizumi cackles, “But look how cute it is, Tooru. It wants to be your friend.”

Iwaizumi has Oikawa backed up against the wall, with a bug in hand.

“IWA-CHAN!” Oikawa is nearly sobbing at this point. If he didn’t need his phone flashlight to illuminate this masterpiece he’d be recording this. “PLEASE JUST KILL IT!”

“You’re going to hurt its feelings.”

“HAJIME, I SWEAR TO GOD, DON’T COME ANY CLOSER!”

Call him cruel, but how can Issei _not_ tease this man child- this is comedy gold. He watches in satisfaction as Iwaizumi finally gets tired of Oikawa’s screeching, putting the bug on the floor, and squashing it beneath his heel.

“Hajime, I love you, you’re my hero-” Matsukawa fake gags as Oikawa kisses Iwaizumi, “even though you are kind of mean to me- _IWA_ DON’T HIT ME WITH THE HAND YOU JUST HELD THE BUG WITH!”

Finally with all the drama over, they go back to the task at hand.

“Well, Oikawa, I’ve got to admit this place has definitely got the creep factor.” Hanamaki comments, finally catching his breath.

“Yeah, for real. Like look at this shrine.” Matsukawa opens up the little wooden shrine by the window- the paint flaking off. “Like who puts animal figurines in a shrine?”

“Don’t touch that!” Iwaizumi scolds.

“What are we even looking for anyway?” Maki opens up the kitchen door peaking inside, “There’s no way you guys ate in here yesterday. There’s not even a stove here.”

“There’s something wrong with this place.” Oikawa comments, walking back to the staircase. “I’m going to find out what it is.”

The three of them wrap up their search in the kitchen, about to follow Oikawa when they hear a scream coming from upstairs. Normally they’d just chalk it up to Oikawa being dramatic, but it wasn’t just Oikawa screaming- there was a girl’s scream underneath Oikawa’s

Matsukawa can’t help but think that coming here really was a bad idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :). I've already started typing up the next chapter and I've got some ideas for the next few, so keep a look out for those.
> 
> I love and appreciate you guys,  
> Any comments, kudos, and bookmarks will always be appreciated.
> 
> Stay safe!
> 
> Nox <3


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